Football

Guins Keep Moving Forward; Work on Special Teams, Short Yardage

Aug 16, 2011

The Youngstown State football team had a lengthy practice on Tuesday at Stambaugh Stadium. It was the Penguins' only practice of the day and the group worked on special teams and short-yardage situations.

YSU spent the first part of practice working on individual stations.

At the mid-point of the workout, Coach Eric Wolford had the special teams units go head-to-head.

Sophomore punter Nick Liste crushed all four of his punts. Liste had three go for 45 yards while his last one was over 50. Freshman wide receiver Andre Stubbs had a nifty return against the scout team, which could have gone for a touchdown. Senior cornerback Josh Lee also found some daylight and took the ball 60-plus yards. However, the yardage was in question because of a possible penalty.

Then the group worked on kickoff return and kickoff coverage. Stubbs again found a lane and had a long return working the with top return team.

After some 7-on-7 work, the Guins spent time working on short-yardage plays. The defense held its own on numerous plays, but the offense had big play when quarterback Kurt Hess found newly-converted tight end Will Shaw for a 40-yard touchdown pass.

The final three plays of the scrimmage were two-point situations. On the first play, Jordan Thompson took a Kurt Hess pitch around the right side to sneak into the end zone. On the second play, Hess connected with Stubbs for the conversion. On the final play, wide receiver Christian Bryan took a toss and after being grabbed at the two-yard line appeared to lunge the ball across the goalline for the conversion. The play was to close to call as the practice ended.

YSU returns to practice tomorrow for a morning and evening session. The Guins's early practice is set to start at 9 a.m. while the second workout is slated for 5 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.

YSU opens the season on Friday, Sept. 2 at Michigan State. The contest will be televised on the Big Ten Network and carried on 570 WKBN AM.

Season and Individual Game Tickets for the 2011 season are now on sale through the YSU Athletic Ticket Office. For ticket information contact the YSU Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.